Heidelberg
Heidelberg (Vogelsgang catalog: KV 100906 b), known to the former species as Harmony and Retribution, to the as Bauna Nabbur, and to the Alarians as Tecev, is a moderately sized terrestrial planet located in the Orion-Cygnus Arm of the Milky Way galaxy. It is the second of four notable celestial bodies orbiting the yellow dwarf stars KV 100906A and KV 100906B in the planetary system KV 100906, better known as the Hood system. It is one of three habitable worlds in the system, and of these, it is the best suited for supporting Earth-based life forms. Its surface is dominated by vast, deep, saline oceans speckled by hundreds of long, volcanic archipelagos and a handful of larger, subcontinent-sized islands. The planet's internal composition is more akin to worlds such as those found in the than those found in the inner . Human astronomers have estimated the planet's age to be approximately 2,800 million years old, making it relatively old in comparison with planets in the nearest systems yet younger than the majority of worlds found in the local sector of the Orion spur. Because of its age, Heidelberg's plate tectonics are quite active, and the crust is blanketed by an abundance of volcanic hot spots. In addition, Heidelberg plays home to a vast number of plant, animal, fungal, and microbial species; all of which exhibit cellular structures that are shockingly similar to those of -based organisms, including the sentient Alarians. Background The first extraterrestrials to inhabit Heidelberg was the Hakkor Union, an advanced Human civilization that predates modern history. A small colonization detachment was dispatched to claim the planet, and it grew into a serene gem of a world. When the invaded Union territory, the planet's population had reached one and a half billion denizens, and it boasted a reputable orbital defense array. Nonetheless, when the planet was assaulted by a Forerunner armada, its garrison was massacred in just hours and the Forerunner took the remaining population in as either prisoners of war or slaves, and a small task force remained in orbit to guard it while the Ecumene continued its onslaught of the Humans. The Alarians are a species of tall, slender, reptilian humanoids, and they are the only known native sentient race. They are thought to have reached their climax in technological and cultural achievement around approximately 1940 CE, more than a hundred thousand years after the Ecumene lost the planet to the . By that time, they had managed to make advances in the flash cloning of lesser species, use of nuclear fusion as a source of clean energy (although it only fulfilled around one sixth of their total energy needs), and the use of mass driver artillery by a handful of militaries. The Alarians had achieved , and they were in the late stages of said achievement tier before they made first contact with the Covenant Hegemony. Following a brief war between the two civilizations, the native defenders were decimated by the much more advanced invaders. They were temporarily absorbed into the Covenant empire as a slave race, although the planet was abandoned by the Hierarchy in 2005 amidst a decade-long civil war. By 2112, the majority of Alarians taken prisoner had died of starvation, disease, or were executed, and Heidelberg itself, then known as Colony 305-NA, was usurped by the remaining Alarian populace as well as a number of Kig Yar and Unggoy pirates. The Alarians, whose population had declined considerably, reverted to a species of hunter-gatherers, although they were quick to utilize more modern tools, namely firearms, when available. In the following centuries, Heidelberg underwent a prolongued dark age of sorts. Many Alarians and pirates congregated into tribes and and waged war against one another for valuable resources, territory, and increasingly scarce modern weapons. This seemingly endless cycle was set to change when the war between the Covenant and broke out. Wanting to preserve their logistical dominance over the unprepared , the Covenant once again seized the planet and began mining it for resources, particularly and . Approximately one decade after first contact at , a fragment of a UNSC naval detail translated in-system after plotting a randomized Slipspace jump and went on to engage the planetary defenses before being destroyed. Before their demise, though, the vessels had managed to deploy ground forces and use their shipboard weapons to disable a number of fuel harvesting stations. During the , Heidelberg became the sight of a number of minor skirmishes between a number of various groups. By 2557, the planet had been controlled by Sangheili Separatists for two years, but this changed when a Jiralhanae-crewed battlecruiser besieged the planet and obliterated the defending forces over the course of five weeks before claiming it in the name of the High Chieftain. The rare battlecruiser, now tending to a damaged Slipspace drive, resorted to remaining in orbit to defend the planet from would-be attackers. Just weeks later, a the UNSC sloop Drummer Boy arrived in the system to perform a brief reconnaissance mission, but a fault in its stealth system revealed its presence to the Loyalist cruiser. It promptly engaged the small ship, which managed to escape but not without severe damage. The UNSC responded by sending the Seventeenth Battlegroup, led by the cruiser UNSC Andorra, to seize the planet and claim it as a prospective colony of the . The ensuing battle, which would be one of the components of Operation WINDSEEKER, ended in the destruction of the Covenant battlecruiser and associated ground forces, and the task force remained in orbit as a temporary orbital defense group. On June 1st, 2558, a colony ship and two military cargo transports reached the planet and built the foundations of a capital city as well as permanent military installation on the continent of Kingsford. By the time of the colonization, the majority of the local Alarians, Kig Yar, and Unggoy had assimilated into a single organization known as the Kahl Wei Alliance, and they too were centralized on the equatorial continent of Kingsford. Demographics Language By default, the primary spoken language on Heidelberg is English, as it was fluently spoken by ninety-one percent of all its citizens as of 2573; decades later, this amount would decrease to below eighty-five percent, though. In addition, it is most often the language of choice by the government and in most diplomatic affairs, and it is the most often medium for trade-related communication. Also, like many other populous colonies of the Unified Earth Government, Heidelberg boasts a number of unique ethnic groups within its citizenry, and many of these ably speak their native language. Behind English, Spanish and Russian are the second and third most commonly used languages on the planet, respectively. Consequently, most cities feature signs throughout that are trilingual. In certain regions, other languages may also be spoken by a varying number of the local colonists. One such example would the the area of the capital city known as the West Quarter. Many of the Heidelbergans in this particular neighborhood speak French on a daily basis, often as their primary language; the Reachan dialect is the most commonly used variant of the language. A similar example could be found in and near Port Hammdale. More than a third of the local people are of German descent, and a sizable portion of these still speak their native language on a daily basis. Other notable spoken languages on the colony include Mandarin, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Greek, among others. Education As Humanity has continued to expand across the galaxy, education of maturing generations has continually been regarded as highly important in sustaining such growth and development. Colonial planners on Heidelberg have put forth much effort in establishing, maintaining, and refining its state's education systems. Traditionally, all children are required to complete at least thirteen years of education at the scholastic level. There are a number of types of schools which will provide the environment in which the education of youths is carried out. These include preschools, which focus on teaching communicative and fundamental life skills, elementary schools (alternatively referred to as primary or grammar schools), which introduce and instill knowledge pertaining to basic academic concepts, middle and junior high schools, which provide transitional learning in preparation for advanced schooling, and high schools (also known as secondary or preparatory schools), in which mid to higher level subjects are taught at a moderate difficulty. The former is almost never mandatory, although junior high and middle schools are not always present in a particular system, as secondary schools often account for their responsibilities. Once graduated from secondary school, an individual may elect to enroll in a college in a university. At this point, students choose to focus on one or two particular subjects, and courses are much more rigorous and demanding in these particular subjects. Some universities are also quite large when compared to other educational institutions. Marianapolis University is attended by a total of more than forty thousand aspiring scholars, including thirty-five thousand full-time students. The Smith Colonial Military College is another notable college, for it trains and prepares aspiring officers for commissioning into any of the four major branches of the United Nations Space Command Defense Force. A report conducted in 2587 by the Colonial Ministry of Education rated the education system on Heidelberg as the fifth best among UEG colonies, even outranking both and . This was a vast improvement over its status in previous years: it was ranked in the fifty-eigth position just 10 years before. Note the bimillenial revival architecture. See Also *'Hood System' Category:Reconciliation